


Coup de Foudre

by KingofShadows



Category: DCU (Comics), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Barry blushes a lot, First Date, First Kiss, Love Triangle, M/M, Multiverse, Mystery Men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 03:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6595120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingofShadows/pseuds/KingofShadows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teenager Barry Allen has just woken from a coma and found that life has moved on without him...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monday: Barry's POV

**Author's Note:**

> Barry Allen's first day at his new school is not what he expected.

“Are you sure you're ready for this, Barry?” Henry asked as the car slowed to a stop at the school crosswalk. “It's only been two weeks since you woke up and I would completely understand if you think it's too soon to go back to school.”

Barry looked over at his father and forced as big a smile as possible. “I'm sure dad. I've missed enough class time already and if I want to graduate on time and have any chance at getting into Hudson University, then I need to get back to hitting the books.”

Henry tried to match his son's enthusiasm but his smile broke and he quickly turned his attention to the group of kids passing through the crosswalk. He hesitated a few seconds, possibly trying to hold back a few tears – “Well, try to take it easy. Don't overdo it and, if you need anything, call my cell and I'll be right over to pick you up.” 

“I'll be fine, dad. You can stop worrying about me.” 

“Never, son.” He smiled, this time a genuine smile. He watched as Barry stepped out of the car and pulled his messenger bag over his shoulder before waving goodbye and heading up the sidewalk to the main entrance. “Be safe,” Henry whispered to himself once he saw Barry pass through the doors of the school.

*****

Barry was nervous, he just didn't want his dad to know just how nervous he really was. New Brighton High School was twice as large as his old school back in Keystone City and easily had three times as many students. Honestly, it was a bit intimidating. But Central City was home now and he would just have to tough it out a few months until graduation.

Just inside the doors was the admissions office where a smiley secretary told him to have a seat until Miss Watson was available to meet him. She handed him a folder containing his class schedule and few other bit of paperwork about his new school and all of the “fun” activities they offered. Soon he heard his name being called and he was shown into an adjoining office.

After his brief meeting with Miss Watson – the short, blonde guidance councilor – Barry followed her into the nearly empty hallway where he was introduced to a pretty brunette in a pink dress holding a NBHS clipboard. “This is Susan Dearborn. She's the secretary on the senior student council and volunteers as our unofficial 'welcome wagon' for new students. Susan, this is Barry Allen.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you Barry,” she said, reaching out to shake his hand. “I've got it from here, Miss Watson,” she said with a cheerful lilt in her voice.

“Thanks, Susan. And remember, Barry, my door is always open if you need anything,” she said before turning and disappearing into her office.

“Open except when she's snogging Mr. Bivolo,” Susan whispered once the door had closed. Barry gave her a funny look and she blushed a bit before changing the subject. “Sorry, so... I guess we'll start with a tour of the school. Miss Watson gave me a copy of your schedule so I can show you where all of your classes are located as we make our way around. But first, this is your locker,” she said, pointing to the third one down from Miss Watson's door.

“Hehe, number 123, should be easy enough to remember,” Barry said nervously, trying to make small talk. He never was good at talking to new people – especially pretty girls.

“A smart guy like you, I'm sure it'll be easy,” Susan said as they began their walk down the hallway. “I mean, not just anyone wins the Albright Science Award.” 

Barry stopped midstep, surprised. “How, did you know about that? Did Miss Watson tell you?”

Susan blushed again, clearly saying more than she had intended. “Sorry, I kinda cyber-stalked your social media accounts while I was waiting for you to finish with Miss Watson. Don't feel bad, I do it to everyone in the school.”

They continued down the hall, Susan talking and Barry only half paying attention to what she was saying. Clearly, Susan loved to get into everyone's personal business and that was the last thing he needed: a nosy girl poking into his old life. It would be hard enough being the new kid without someone gossiping about his six-month coma – or worse, his mom's death – to a bunch of strangers.

After the hour-long tour, Susan helped Barry log into his school account in the library computer lab. From here he could access all of the info he needed for his classes as well as a list of his homework assignments for each subject. There was also a contact list where he could add classmates for online study sessions. He was only mildly surprised to see that Susan had already sent him a request to be added.

Susan was kind enough to escort Barry to his second period chemistry class, waving a quick goodbye before rushing to her own class. He entered the room which was still empty. Class didn't begin for another twelve minutes and there was obviously no class in this room first period. Unsure of where to sit, in case there was assigned seating, he stood by the lab table nearest the teacher's desk. He glanced around the room taking note of how much more advanced the equipment looked than that of his old school's lab.

“Can I help you?” asked a deep voice from the doorway. Barry turned and saw the voice belonged to a man barely taller than himself with a head covered in short, black dreadlocks. He was wearing a yellow shirt that complimented his dark, caramel skin and a garish tie that looked like a psychedelic Pollock painting.

“Uh, sorry, I'm Barry Allen. Today's my first day and I was waiting for class to start.”

“Oh, right. Mr. Allen, I forgot you would be starting with us today,” the man said with a wide smile. “I'm Mr. Mendez, your chemistry teacher. It's a pleasure to meet you. I've been through your transcripts and I'm very impressed – and that's not a compliment that I typically throw around.”

The bell for the end of the first period sounded overhead and Mr. Mendez instructed Barry to an available seat near the front of the room. As he settled into his chair, he watched Mr. Mendez don a white lab coat in preparation for class then grab a book from a supply closet behind his desk.

“Here's your textbook, Mr. Allen. We're on chapter four if you want to glance over it before we start. I'll print you a syllabus while we work on the lab exercises. We'll have an odd number in the class now, but I'll have you team-up with one of the other pairs temporarily, if that's OK.”

Barry just nodded and grunted in the affirmative as he flipped open his book to chapter four. People were slowly filtering into the room and he could feel the stares of his classmates as they took in his presence. At his old school, he was mostly invisible – which he preferred – usually remaining close behind his BFF Iris West. This sudden foray into the limelight had him feeling flustered and warm. He kept telling himself that this would all blow over once the novelty of being new wore off and he could hide in the shadows again.

For a brief moment, in his peripheral vision, he thought he saw Iris sitting in the seat next to him. The girl's dark skin and long black hair combined with the recent thoughts of his best friend had momentarily tricked his brain into thinking it was really her. Barry stole another glance. She was attractive but in a very different way than Iris, taller and more toned as if she played sports or at least worked out regularly.

Once she had settled into her seat and collected her book from her backpack, Barry could see her shift to face him. “You must be Barry Allen,” she said.

“Yeah, that's me,” he responded, slightly surprised.

“I'm Natasha Irons. It's great to meet you,” she said with a smile. “I heard you won an Albright Award. It'll be nice to have someone who can challenge me – intellectually, I mean.”

Barry raised a questioning eyebrow. “Are you friends with Susan Dearborn?”

Natasha laughed. “Yeah, Sue's the one who told me about you. I'm the student council president, she's the secretary. Between you and me, I think she gets a little confused over which information is vital and which is gossip, but she means no harm.”

Barry smiled in response. He like Natasha, she made him feel instantly comfortable. He could see it as being the reason she was elected class president. Surely he wouldn't be lucky enough to be partnered with her on the lab exercises.

The bell for class rang and the teacher began by quickly introducing Barry before jumping into his lecture. It was quickly clear that Mr. Mendez had a passion for both teaching and science. He had a sense of humor that seemed on par with his students and he made lots of geeky references to Star Trek and the like. It was only twenty minutes into the period and Barry already loved this class. 

He reviewed the lab exercise for the day and handed out a worksheet for the students to complete as they worked. “Alright, guys, get with your lab partners and get started on exercises 4.1 and 4.2. I want these papers turned in by the end of class,” Mr. Mendez shouted over the din of chairs sliding across tiled floors.

While the other students chatted and poked about getting into their groups, Barry focused his attention on the worksheet. It seemed simple enough, he'd have no problem doing it – even if he had to work by himself. 

He suddenly felt a presence behind him and heard someone clear their throat. Barry turned to see a tall guy with cold, blue eyes staring down at him. “My partner skipped school today so it looks like it's you and me, Red,” he said in a deep, but smooth voice.

“Red?” Barry asked, confused. The other boy pointed at Barry's chest. He forgot he had worn a red t-shirt today. “Oh, right.”

They walked to a table at the back of the room, just inside the door. “So, kid, you got a name? Or would you prefer me to keep calling you 'Red?'”

Despite his attempt to prevent it, Barry's cheeks flushed – part in frustration and part in embarrassment. “It's Barry. Barry Allen. Mr. Mendez introduced me at the start of class... ring any bells?”

“I wasn't really paying attention.” The corner of his mouth turned up slightly in a cocky half-grin. Barry waited for him to introduce himself, but he never did. Then Barry noticed a name neatly printed in blue ink on the top of his worksheet.

“Len... Snart?” Barry asked, trying to read the name upside-down. He glanced up from his paper and Barry could feel the cold, blue eyes piercing his soul.

“Well done, Sherlock,” he said sarcastically. “Now, how about you investigate the supply closet and get what we need for this experiment.” It was definitely an order and not a request.

Barry and Len worked on the exercises mostly in silence. Mr. Mendez stopped by several times to see how they were progressing and was surprised that, despite it being his first day, Barry was well ahead of the other students on the assignment.

As they recorded the last few results on the worksheet, Len spoke for the first time since they started. “I may have underestimated you, Allen.” Barry smiled and was about to respond when he was interrupted by Len. “Don't get too attached to me, kid. My partner will be back tomorrow and you'll be flying solo.” Barry could only roll his eyes at the comment.

The pair had already begun to clean their work station as the other students hurriedly turned in their worksheets to do the same before the final bell. Mr. Mendez wrote the reading assignment on the chalkboard and gave an ominous warning about “The Big Project” on the horizon. Barry was certain from the groan of his classmates that this was something they all dreaded.

About halfway to his next class, AP English, Natasha caught up to him. “I'm impressed,” she said. “I'm surprised you finished the exercises before us, especially given who your partner was. Bad luck you got paired up with Snart today. Maybe Mr. Mendez will let you join my group – I wouldn't mind having another brain to consult on 'The Big Project.'”

“What exactly is this project?” Barry asked.

“I keep forgetting you're not from Central City,” she said. “Every year, Mercury Labs holds a sort-of science fair – only it's way bigger and better than a normal school science fair. We have to 'innovate a new invention for the betterment of mankind,'” she said, making air quotes with her fingers as she rattled off the last bit. “The top three projects from our school compete with schools from the rest of the state. The best part is that the top projects get put into production at Mercury Labs and the students get to do a summer internship there and help in the development.”

Barry was impressed. Even though Keystone City was less than 100 miles away from Central City, it was in another state and thus excluded from the contest. This could be a great opportunity for him, especially if he won and got to do an internship at Mercury Labs.

Thoughts of the project occupied his mind throughout English and well into his next class: Art with the infamous Mr. Bivolo. Barry wasn't too impressed with his art teacher, he seemed like a hipster – with his slicked-back black hair, thick-rimmed glasses, and the bow tie/cardigan fashion combo – trying too hard to be “too cool for school.” 

The bell ending fourth period sounded and Barry felt a sudden twinge in his stomach knowing it was time for senior lunch. The pang wasn't from hunger – well, mostly not – but from the sudden panic of entering THE CAFETERIA. He was at a total loss of protocol for his new school. Normally, he would be sitting with Iris and his few other friends at their usual table. But now there was no Iris and he had no idea where to sit or even how the cliques divvied-up the lunch room turf. He could end up sitting in jock territory and spend the break watching them play keep-away with his lunch bag.

He closed his locker door only to see Sue leaning against the locker beside him. “I know exactly what you're thinking right now, and lunch your first day at a new school can really suck,” she said linking her elbow with his and pulling him toward the cafeteria. “Natasha and I thought you might like to sit with us, at least until you made some other friends and found your niche.”

Barry smiled, unable to believe his sudden luck. They entered the cafeteria and headed for the center-most table. Natasha smiled broadly and waved as she saw the pair approach. “Aww, you two make such a cute couple,” she said.

Barry blushed but Sue rolled her eyes at the comment. “You sound like my mother, Nat. Always trying to hook me up with someone because apparently a girl can't be single and happy.”

As the two bickered about Natasha's matchmaking skills – or the lack of said skills – Barry watched the other students filtering into the cafeteria. Soon he could see the formation of boundaries between the cliques and even within them. Emo-Goth kids were clumped in the farthest corner away from the windows. Nearby, a band of band geeks spread across several tables with their instrument cases seated beside them. The jocks had there own corner, too, with heavy football-types closest to the food lines and the tall basketballers near the double doors leading to the patio. 

Barry watched a boy with spiky hair wearing a bright purple shirt head to the table next to his. He was balancing a tray of food in one hand and carried a soccer ball under his other arm while sliding out a chair with his foot. In a single, fluid movement, he slid into the seat and dropped the tray gently on the table. Once seated, he looked up and saw Barry watching him. He gave him a wink and a smile before he was joined by several other guys all laughing and talking loudly about something almost certainly soccer-related.

His own table had also begun to fill. Next to Natasha was her lab partner and – as he soon discovered when he kissed her on the cheek – boyfriend, Mal Duncan. Beside Mal sat a girl he didn't recognize but learned was his younger sister, Val. Last to the table was a lanky blonde boy, who Barry remembered from both his English and Art classes. 

“Hey. Barry Allen, isn't it?” the blonde asked as he dropped into the only available chair. Barry nodded and shook the hand offered to him. “Donny Hall, I think we have a few classes together. Great to meet you.”

“Thanks, Donny. It's nice to meet you, too.”

“How are classes so far?” he asked, genuinely interested.

“Good. Really good, actually. I loved chemistry with Mr. Mendez,” Barry answered honestly.

“I'm surprised,” Donny said. “Natasha told me you got stuck with Leonard Snart as your lab partner. He and my brother are on the wrestling team together so I know he's not the easiest guy to get along with.”

“Your brother?” Barry asked.

“Yeah, Hank. He's over there in the jock section,” Donny said pointing a big-muscled brunette with a few day's worth of stubble on his chin. “You probably remember him from art class, it's the one class we have together since he's not taking anything advanced.”

Barry watched the wrestling jocks for a moment before he realized that Snart wasn't seated with the rest of the team. In fact, as Barry glanced around the cafeteria, he didn't see him anywhere in the room. His glance momentarily passed over the soccer table again and he met the eyes of the boy in purple. Their eyes locked briefly and Barry was treated to another wide smile before quickly looking away.

Donny and Barry chatted most of the lunch period and learned that their schedules were almost identical. After lunch, they headed to World History with Sue, then to Calculus where they met Natasha and Mal again, before heading to the gym for their last class of the day. 

Unlike his old school, the boys had gym class separate from the girls – not that Iris was here to support and encourage him, anyway. It was odd, but just another reminder he wasn't in Kansas anymore, literally. After quickly changing into his red and white uniform, Barry followed Donny into the gym which was divided into various sections with each dedicated to a specific gymnastic exercise. The huge and intimidating Mr. Holt stood in the center with his arms folded across his chest waiting for the class to gather. 

“Quiet down, gentlemen!” Mr. Holt's voice boomed, echoing off the walls and sounding more powerful than it should have normally. The class immediately silenced and focused on him. “I'm going to break you into groups of four and assign you a section. After thirty minutes, I will blow my whistle and you will rotate to the next station. Line up!”

There was a rush of boys scrambling to get in line and stay grouped together with as many of their friends as possible. Mr. Holt started at one end of the line and began counting: “1-2-3-4, Station One. 1-2-3-4, Station Two.” It continued like this until everyone had been broken into teams except for Barry, Donny, and a chubby boy named Winslow who were the last three in line. As they were about to head to Station Ten, the locker room doors swung open and one last student joined them.

“Sorry I'm late, Coach, I had to talk to Mrs. Hooper after class.” It was the boy from the cafeteria in the purple shirt.

Mr. Holt grunted. “You're on Station Ten with these three.”

The boy looked in their direction and smiled when he saw Barry. He jogged over to join the others at the balance beam. “Hey guys,” he said, still smiling.

“Hey, Miguel,” Donny and Winslow said in unison.

He turned to Barry, still smiling, and extended his hand. “I don't think we've been properly introduced. Miguel Barragan.”

“Barry Allen,” he said, taking his hand. But instead of a handshake, Miguel quickly pulled him into a bro-hug.

Donny laughed at the look of shock on Barry's face. “You'll have to excuse Miguel, he's a bit affectionate. But we let it slide since he's the star of the soccer team.”

“Just like his dad...” Winslow said dryly, rolling his eyes.

“Wait... Barragan, as in Jose Barragan from the Central City Comets!?!” Barry nearly shouted.

“The same,” Miguel said, his smile fading slightly. “Thanks for reminding everyone, Winslow.”

“You boys better stop clucking like hens at a church social and start walking across that beam unless you're happy to get an 'F' this semester,” Mr. Holt said, surprising all four of them.

Donny, it turned out, was a natural gymnast and showed the others different exercises. Winslow barely made an effort to walk across it once, but Barry and Miguel attempted a few of the tricks they saw Donny demonstrate. Twenty-five minutes later, the whistle sounded and they rotated to Station One which was sit-ups and push-ups. 

Miguel slapped Barry on the back. “Come on, Barry. I'll hold your ankles if you hold mine.”

“Uh, sure, Miguel.” 

Barry lay on his back, raised his knees up, and spread his legs slightly. Miguel knelt at his feet and grabbed his ankles tightly. He was still smiling at him, like a kid on Christmas eyeing up the presents under the tree. Barry could feel a blush rising in his cheeks and started to do his sit-ups in an effort to hide it.

Miguel counted-off in Spanish until the mid-thirties when Barry started to tire and Miguel began pushing him to do more. “Good, Barry, just a few more. Come on, amigo, just ten more and you'll be at fifty! Almost there... cinco... quatro... tres... dos... uno! Good job, Barry!”

Barry collapsed back, breathing heavily. He closed his eyes and realized that Miguel was still holding his ankles, despite being finished. And if he wasn't mistaken, he could also feel a thumb gently rubbing the fine, blonde hairs on his leg just above the hem of his sock.

“Your turn,” Barry said, quickly jerking away, pretending he hadn't noticed.

Miguel dropped onto his back and into the familiar position. Barry knelt between his legs noticing not only how much stronger they were than his own, but how much hairier they were, as well. Barry grabbed his ankles touching the warm, bare skin because of the low-cut socks hidden inside Miguel's shoes.

“Can you move your hands up a little higher?” Miguel asked. “Yeah, right there. And you're going to have to hold me a lot tighter than you are now, trust me.”

Miguel started and, like a true athlete, outshone Barry's pathetic attempt by easily doubling it. As Barry counted – in English – he could feel the solid muscles flexing under his grip. Around sit-up number sixty-two, Barry noticed the other boy's t-shirt had lifted slightly exposing a strip of golden skin around his navel which had a trail of dark hairs leading into his shorts. As he followed the trail with his eyes, he realized that Miguel's baggy shorts had slid up his thigh revealing the leg of his compression shorts underneath. Barry's brain was counting on autopilot as he watched the thigh flex and release under the tight, black spandex.

The movement suddenly stopped and Barry realized that Miguel was laying back. He quickly released his grip on the other boy's ankles and wiped his sweaty hands on his shirt. “Uh, 125, good job, Miguel,” Barry finally stuttered.

The whistle blew bringing Barry fully back to reality. Mr. Holt made a brief announcement and dismissed the class to shower and change before the final bell. Most of the boys raced to the locker room, a few moved a bit slower obviously exhausted. 

“Time to go, amigo,” Miguel said, rolling forward and standing in a single, quick movement. He held out a hand to help Barry off the floor.

Like most schools, the last few minutes of the day were always a bit helter-skelter. Everyone was excited to leave and head home for the day. Combine that energy with the rush of adrenaline from an hour of working out plus the rage of teen hormones, and the locker room was in complete chaos. Guys were in groups loudly talking over both each other and the din of the shower. Half-naked guys were throwing sweaty clothes at their friends as a stream of wet, towel-clad boys ran from the showers to their lockers. And this was the scene Barry, Donny, and Miguel walked into.

“Hey, Miguel!” one of his buddies shouted, tossing a soccer ball to his friend.

Miguel spun – a bit too quickly – trying to catch the ball, but his feet slid out from under him on the wet floor. As Barry realized what was happening, everything suddenly seemed to start moving in slow motion. Everything except for him. 

He saw Miguel falling backward and the ball – now missing it's intended target – was headed for Donny's face. Taking a few steps forward, Barry grabbed Miguel around the chest with one arm to steady him and reached out the other to grab the soccer ball. As soon as he was in position, time seemed to revert to it's normal speed. 

Miguel fell against Barry and into his grasp rather than onto the concrete floor and the soccer ball stopped in his hand, even as Donny raised his arms to protect his face from the impact.

“Dude, great moves!” someone yelled.

“Check out those reflexes. We need him on the team!” someone else screamed.

“What's that guy's name?” he heard a few people whisper.

Several students clapped and whistled. 

Barry nervously smiled in response. He could still feel Miguel's weight pressed against him and his rapid heartbeat thumping against the arm Barry had thrown across his chest. He was sure that Miguel could feel his own heart thundering like a locomotive against his back. The two eventually pulled apart and Barry handed the ball to Miguel before zipping over to his locker to change.

“What just happened?” Barry asked himself. Maybe it was a side effect of the coma. The bell rang just as Barry finished tying his sneakers. He grabbed his bag, locked his locker, and ran for the door.


	2. Tuesday: Len's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A typical Tuesday for Len and Lisa... maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read Chapter One, I hope you continue to enjoy this series!

Len opened his eyes and glanced at the clock on his phone – it was twenty minutes before his alarm was due to beep. For a moment, he contemplated sleeping those few minutes more but decided against it. It was a Tuesday morning and he knew that his dad would be sleeping-off the hangover he brought home from his Monday night poker game. It would be best not to wake him.

Barefoot, he walked down the hall to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and realized that there was still no hot water. That was fine for him, he didn't mind a cold shower – in fact, he found them invigorating – but his sister, Lisa, would need some hot water. He made a mental note to boil some water for her bath when he was done.

After showering and dressing, he headed to the kitchen and, as quietly as possible, pulled out a large pot from the cabinet beneath the sink and filled it with water. As the water boiled, he grabbed two bowls and a box of cereal. It felt nearly-empty. Daddy-dearest must've been hungry when he came home last and pigged out on the cereal. He poured the remaining cereal for Lisa and replaced his empty bowl in the cupboard.

He gently opened Lisa's bedroom door and shook her awake. “Lise. Lise, it's time to wake up.”

“Hng, wha – what time is it?” she asked, groggily.

“It's almost seven, time to get up.” Len brushed the blonde hair out of her face and felt her forehead. “No temperature today, that's good,” he said with a bit of a smile.

Lisa rolled onto her back and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. “Do I hafta go to school today, Lenny?” she asked.

Len frowned. “It's Tuesday, Lise. Dad's off today and you know how mad he'll be if you skip school. Now get in the kitchen and eat your breakfast. I've got water boiling so you can get a bath before we leave.”

Lisa knew better than to argue with Len, after all, he was only trying to protect her. She ate her cereal then headed down the hall for a quick bath in the lukewarm water.

As his sister got ready, Len made a mental list of everything he'd need to do after school today. They needed groceries, there were two or three loads of laundry waiting, and he was pretty sure he had seen the electric bill on the kitchen counter. He'd need money for all of that, so he'd have to stop by his secret place and pick-up a bit of cash on his way home.

Lewis Snart may be the adult in the house, but Len was the one who took care of things. Once a cop with a promising career, that all disappeared when he got caught trying to fence stolen goods to an undercover agent. Five years in prison had changed Lewis. Not really changed him, just stripped away the superficial layer he had hidden behind for all those years. His second wife, Natalie – Lisa's mother – had left not long after his release leaving Lewis alone with both children.

Despite the situation, Len knew he had no other option than to deal with the drunk – at least until he was eighteen. Once he was legally an adult, he could get Lisa out of this situation and never see his worthless father ever again. 

But his new dream life without Lewis Snart would take money. Money that he didn't have. He tried to get a job, earn it legally, but no one would hire a kid with no experience – especially one named Snart. Luckily, Lewis had taught his son how to pickpocket and steal. Perhaps in Lewis's damaged mind it was a way to bond with his son; or maybe he was hoping his son would follow in his criminal footsteps. Either way, it was a means of staying in his father's good graces and keep the leather belt at away from himself and his sister. Len hated stealing, which is why he only took money and possessions from people with more than enough to spare. Sadly, the money never lasted as long he'd hoped. 

He was jolted from his thoughts by the sound of Lisa pulling her bedroom door closed. She still looked a bit under the weather, but much better than yesterday. As she pulled on her sneakers, Len grabbed her a glass of water and pulled her bottle of pills from a hiding spot above the refrigerator.

“Did you think I forgot about your medicine?” Len asked, shaking a pill from the bottle.

“I was hoping you did,” Lisa said with a sigh.

“Look, the doctor said it's only temporary until your body starts producing enough iron on it's own,” he said handing her the pill and a glass of water.

Len walked Lisa to her stop and watched her get onto her bus. It was a slightly chilly day for mid- September, but Len didn't mind the cold. He usually walked the few blocks to school unless his buddy Mick swung by to give him a lift on his motorcycle. But he hadn't heard anything from Mick for the past couple of days and, besides, he needed the time to think.

Before he realized it, he was at the school walking in the back entrance by the student parking lot.

“Hey, Snart!” he heard someone call from behind him.

He knew instantly from the deep voice that it was his wrestling teammate, Hank. Without turning, he paused mid-step and asked: “Something I can do for you, Hall?”

“Hey, did you hear about Rory?” Hank asked.

Len turned on his heel to face the bigger guy, arching a eyebrow at the question. “What did that hot-head do now?”

“He tried to get some booze for a party Sunday night and the guy didn't accept his fake ID. Mick got pissed and tried to burn the place down – he's going to juvie!”

Len's mouth fell open slightly thinking about his idiot best friend spending time in a detention center. And it could be even worse, Mick was only a few months away from being eighteen which meant he could potentially be tried as an adult and go to a real jail. That could be him, too, if he wasn't careful and then poor Lisa would be left alone with their father.

It weighed heavily on his mind throughout first period and into second period. Only when he heard Mr. Mendez announce for them to get into their pairs to do lab exercises did he finally snap back to reality.

Now that Mick had been arrested, it meant he would be partnered with Barry Allen again. Len saw that he was already at their table in the back row. Today he was wearing a red and blue striped shirt – what was it with this kid and red?

“Seems you're stuck with me, Len,” Barry said as he approached.

Len grunted in response.

“I, uh, heard about your friend getting arrested. I'm sorry,” he said, seemingly genuine.

“I knew it would happen eventually,” Len said dryly. “Mick loved playing with fire – figuratively and literally.”

Barry let the subject drop and started setting up the lab equipment, humming slightly as he did it. 

“Anything I can do?” Len asked. 

“Oh, you're going to help today instead of watching me do all the work?” Barry asked, slightly sarcastic.

Len smiled his cocky grin. “Lets just say I could use the distraction, kid.”

“Hmm, well, I guess while I measure this out, you can add the acid to the test tubes. Three drops per tube, okay?”

They set to work, things going much smoother than the previous day. Barry gave Len instructions, which he easily followed, but he didn't otherwise speak until they had completed their assignment. Len couldn't help but notice how excited Barry seemed to be whenever they worked on a lab exercise. He seemed so animated and lively, sometimes humming a nameless tune as he worked. A few times their hands brushed as they reached for something at the same time and Barry would blush at the contact.

“I didn't see you at lunch yesterday,” Barry said, after he had turned in their worksheets to Mr. Mendez.

“Family emergency. Unavoidable. I had to skip out early,” he replied as they began to tidy their station.

“Oh. Nothing too serious, I hope.”

“My sister was in the hospital.” Len wasn't sure why he told the other boy. There was just something about Barry that made him seem trustworthy, like he genuinely cared about him. “But she's fine, now,” he added.

“That's good,” Barry said with gentle smile. 

The bell rang, saving him from any more awkward conversations with Barry. But the next period, there he was again in English class. And at lunch he saw him sitting with that Natasha girl and her student council cronies. After lunch, too, Barry walked into history with Hank's brother, Donny, and that chatty Sue girl.

After history, he didn't see Barry for the remainder of the day. And he was glad. He needed to focus on other things, like Lisa and money and bills that needed to be paid. He needed to stop thinking about Barry Allen and those blue-green eyes that made his stomach knot-up or the adorable way he blushed every time their fingers touched.

“Forget about Barry Allen,” he told himself on the long, cold walk to his secret place. “He's a distraction, nothing more. He's a brainiac that hangs with the rich snobs. And even if he was gay, he wouldn't be interested in a no-good nobody like me.”

He was almost there: the dock-side of town. It wasn't as busy of an area now as it had been fifty or even twenty years ago. The most that the port was used for nowadays was receiving construction materials from Keystone City up north. There was a plethora of abandoned buildings of every type, but Len had found one he liked the most. It had once been one of the largest employers in the city, he learned – a fish cannery for a long-expired company called “Captain's Catch.” 

In exploring it one summer with Mick, he had found a secret underground storage space – possibly a fallout shelter since the building was built during the war. It became his secret place, somewhere he could hide from the rest of the world. Not even Mick or Lisa knew about it, and he liked it that way. It was where he kept all of his most private possessions, as well as his money, locked away in an old safe he had managed to crack after about a thousand tries.

There was no electricity, but he had “acquired” a pair of battery-powered lanterns that he used to light the small space. After flicking on the switch, he made his way to the safe and counted out $250, nearly half of his savings. He then sat at the small desk and sent a text to Lisa to meet him at the library and they would go grocery shopping before heading home.

Thirty minutes later and he and Lisa were walking into the brightly lit supermarket. They were making their way around the aisles when his sister began to get bored and begged to look at the cereal in the next row. “Please, Lenny, it's just around the corner,” she begged.

“Fine, but stay in that aisle, I'll be right there.” He grabbed a few cans of soup that were on sale and made his way around the corner. He instantly spotted Lisa but also noticed that a few shelves away was none other than Barry Allen. He was still wearing the same red and blue striped shirt, though it was under his open gray hoodie, which meant he probably came here direct from school.

“Lenny, can we get this one?” Lisa shouted, attracting Barry's attention.

He smiled when he saw Len and gave him a small wave. As he walked past, he gave Barry a simple head nod in acknowledgment and walked over to Lisa. She was holding a box labeled “Fruity Berry Bombs” emblazoned with a cartoon unicorn – no doubt her reason for wanting it.

Len looked at the price on the label and sighed. “Please, Lenny! It comes with a special Princess Goldie figure,” she whined, pointing to the picture on back of the box.

He suddenly felt someone beside him. It was Barry. “Aww, come on, Lenny,” he said emphasizing the last bit. “If you don't buy it for your sister, I'll have to.”

He felt Barry's hand on his shoulder and those familiar knots reappeared in his stomach. He could feel a sudden redness in his ears from both anger and embarrassment.

“Fine,” he said, shrugging off Barry's hand and dropping the box in his cart.

Before he could grab Lisa and walk away, she started waving at someone behind them. “Hi, Dr. Allen,” she said.

“Oh, god,” Len thought. The doctor from the ER yesterday was Barry's dad! How had he not put the pieces together until now? Now that he saw them side-by-side he couldn't imagine how he didn't see the similarities between Barry and his dad. They both had the same unruly blonde hair, the same jawline and nose – the only difference was Barry's blue-green eyes to his father's brown.

“Hi, Lisa,” Dr. Allen said, recognizing her instantly. “Are you feeling better today?” She nodded rapidly. “Good. And are you taking your pills?”

“Yes, sir, twice a day with my meals,” she said. “Lenny makes sure to remind me.”

“Leonard, right?” he asked, holding out his hand to shake. “I remember you, too. This is my son, Barry.”

Barry blushed and rolled his eyes. “He knows me, dad. We go to school together – he's my lab partner, remember?”

Len couldn't help but smirk at Barry's embarrassment. Parents do have a knack for it.

“Oh, I remember! Len from chemistry,” he said. Barry's face seemed to redden even more. “Hey, if you guys don't have any plans, why don't you come out for pizza with us. I'm sure Barry would love to spend some time with a friend outside of school.”

“I appreciate the offer, Dr. Allen, but Lisa and I really need to get home.”

Henry nodded in understanding. “Well, it was nice to meet you again. Lisa, don't forget to take your medicine.”

“See you tomorrow in chemistry, Len,” Barry said, waving as they walked away.

That night, in bed, Len had a hard time sleeping. He stared through the darkness to the ceiling, his mind thinking about Barry. How in a different world, he might have said yes to Dr. Allen's offer. As he and Barry sat across from each other, looking into each others eyes over plates of pizza while no one else was looking. Reaching a hand across the table, their fingers touching and sending a tingle of electricity through his body. Barry would blush, Len would smirk. 

And then, suddenly, they are alone in the restaurant. Len leans across the table and plants a gentle kiss on Barry's pink lips. The kiss becomes more intense, tongues get involved and soon they are reaching to take off each others clothes.

Len rolled onto his side and pulled his pillow close to his body. Barry's not the first guy he's thought about, but he's the first in a very, very long time. He couldn't be distracted now, not by anyone. Especially not by someone like Barry Allen who's nice smile and kind words would be polluted by Len and his twisted life. No, it was better to just be alone, to not let anyone else in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to note, Lisa is suffering from Preteen Anemia, a fairly common disorder in adolescent females. The lack of iron causes fatigue which, in extreme cases, may cause them to pass-out (which is what prompted her hospital visit). 
> 
> Come back next week for Chapter Three, Wednesday from Barry's POV posted on Wednesday!


	3. Wednesday: Barry's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry has an interesting day at school, chats with his old friends from Keystone City, and learns about the "side effects" of his accident.

Barry groaned as the high-pitched beeping of his alarm clock woke him from his dream. He reached a hand out to hit the snooze button and rolled onto his other side, pulling the blankets around him as he curled into his pillow. He was only vaguely aware of the sound of rain tapping against the window as he prepared for another twelve minutes of sleep.

KRAKOOM!!!

The loud crack of thunder overhead made his eyes snap open instantly. Clearly, sleeping in was not on the agenda. He yawned and stretched out his arms before tossing the blankets aside and rolling out of bed. The smell of coffee hit his nose the moment he swung open his bedroom door, the scent of it growing stronger as he walked into the kitchen.

“G'morning,” he grunted around another wide yawn, settling onto a stool at the counter.

“Morning, kiddo,” Henry responded, pouring a cup of coffee. “I made you some oatmeal – that peaches and cream kind that you like.”

“Thanks,” Barry said, reaching for the carton of orange juice and the glass waiting for him. “Hey, dad, when do you think we can drive up to Keystone to see Iris and everyone?”

“Well, I was talking to Joe the other day and he thought that maybe he and Iris would come and visit over Columbus weekend. How about that?”

Barry nodded, taking a large gulp of orange juice. Columbus Day was still a few weeks away and he had been hoping to see Iris before then. She and her dad drove down to see him the night he had woken from his coma, but because of school and work, they only stayed a few hours to visit. This was the longest he'd been away from Iris since she went to camp that one summer.

The past few days, Barry had been too engrossed in adjusting to his new school routine to have a chance to chat with his friends. He was hoping that, now that things had leveled out a bit, he would have a chance to spend an hour or two in his old group chat. He didn't have many friends, but he was extremely close to the few he did have – they were almost like family.

Barry was unusually quiet the rest of the morning. Throughout French class first period and well into chemistry, his focus was on his old life and his old friends. Only once he'd been handed the new lab worksheet did he realize that he had been daydreaming throughout Mr. Mendez's entire lecture. The other students had already started to gather around their lab tables and Barry slowly rose to do the same.

“Rough morning, kid?” Len asked as they made their way to the rear lab table.

Barry grunted a response and glanced over the worksheet at the exercises and the list of supplies.

“Your brain seems to have skipped class today, so how about I take the lead on this one,” Len said. Before Barry could even respond, he had crossed over to the supply closet to collect their items. He returned quickly with a few vials of chemicals in each hand and an unopened box of test tubes under his arm. 

“Thanks,” Barry said upon his return to the table.

Len didn't respond at first, not even giving him the smug smirk with which he usually responded. “We're all allowed to have our bad days, kid,” he said after a moment.

Barry let his partner lead the exercises and followed along, only interrupting once when Len miscalculated a formula. He was a lot smarter than he let on, which shouldn't have surprised Barry since chemistry was an advanced course. Len was very precise and always double-checked the directions before proceeding to the next step and followed the timing of each one to the second. Today, Natasha and Mal beat them to the finish – not that it was a race – but he was proud that they still completed everything just a minute behind them. 

As they set to cleaning up their work station, Mr. Mendez began handing out packets to each table. “What I'm giving you is the syllabus for the annual 'Future of Science' Innovation Project sponsored by Mercury Labs.” Barry saw Natasha glance his direction and smile. “Normally, I would be assigning everyone a partner based on their strengths, but this year I've decided to try something different. I've been watching how each of you work together these past few weeks and I've decided to keep you paired with your lab partner on this project.”

Barry glanced at Len who appeared unfazed by the statement. This was suppose to be his big chance – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do an internship at Mercury Labs. Sure they did well today, but could he really trust Len to do his share of the project?

“You have a packet of information along with a timeline of project due dates,” Mr. Mendez continued. “I want to point out that Monday we will be meeting individually to discuss ideas. That's three concepts per group that I want you to pitch to me. So, I highly recommend you get together with your partners at some point this week or weekend to discuss ideas.”

The bell rang and everyone started to collect their things. “One more thing,” Mr. Mendez added, quieting the class. “I was just notified today that one of the judges this year will be Dr. McGee.”

“Dr. McGee!” Natasha squealed as she and Barry walked to English. “The Christina McGee – head scientist, CEO, and founder of Mercury Labs – is going to be one of the judges! She's never been a judge in the past, this is...”

“I know,” Barry said, interrupting. Even though he wasn't from Central City, he knew who Dr. McGee was and the influence she held in the scientific community. 

“I wish you and I could've been partners,” Nat continued. “There's no way we would lose! Of course, knowing that you're my competition is going to make me work even harder. My brain is already buzzing with ideas!”

Barry rolled his eyes as he and Nat separated to their assigned seats. Normally, he loved a challenge, too. He was ready for the hours of hard work it would take to wow Dr. McGee and the other judges so that he could win the internship. And even if Snart wasn't invested in the project, he would just do it on his own and slap Len's name on the cover page if it came to that. 

He looked at Len on the opposite side of the room, his attention focused on a paperback book. It's not that he thought Len was stupid or lazy, he just seemed constantly distracted, like there was something more important than school. And maybe there was. He knew most people his age had short attention spans and were more focused on everything but their education. Barry already knew that Len had wrestling practice and tournaments as well as a sick sister he was caring for. He imagined that both took a lot of his free time.

He probably even had a hot girlfriend he was hooking-up with after school everyday, too. Len had that brooding, bad-boy vibe going for him that most girls – and some boys – just went crazy over. And he did have nice eyes – icy, blue-gray eyes that looked so cold and yet burned with a hidden anger at the same time. Barry shook the thought from his head.

English and art both passed by without incident, though Barry was distracted throughout both classes. He had sketched a few ideas for The Big Project – rather than take notes on Mr. Bivolo's over-dramatic Picasso lecture – but he didn't think they had merit so he shoved them into the bottom of his bag. When the bell for lunch finally rang, he and Donny headed to the cafeteria together where they found Susan already seated.

“What's up, Sue?” Donny asked, taking the seat next to her. “You look really pissed-off about something.”

“Ugh, that new, idiot editor, Jonathan Carroll, refused to publish my article and that snobby Mr. Kline backed him up!” she half-shouted.

“Again?” Donny said, rubbing her shoulder in an effort to calm her.

“What's the article about?” Barry asked.

“The Mystery Men,” she said with a sigh. 

Donny rolled his eyes as if to say “not again,” but kept silent. Clearly this was a hot topic between Sue and the others.

“Uh, who are the Mystery Men?” Barry asked, genuinely curious.

“Oh, don't ask – she's going to spend the entire lunch period on this now,” Donny groaned.

Sue gave Donny a dirty look but rather than respond, she simply pulled a red folder from her backpack and handed it to Barry. “You can keep it after you've read it. Or throw it in the garbage. Mr. Kline thinks it's trash anyway.”

Barry flipped the cover open and read the title: Men of Mystery – The Truth About America's Secret Super-Heroes. Along with the article, Susan had also included copies of a few online articles. There were multiple eye witness accounts of an aquatic man saving fishing vessels along Coast City, a flaming woman stopping bank robbers in Hawaii, and even a mysterious vigilante in Central City that Sue referred to as “The Sandman.”

Sue was nothing if not detailed in her report and he wondered if maybe she could use her skills to help him with his own investigation into his mother's death. His recent coma and relocation to a new city did nothing to deter his need for the truth. His only problem was whether or not could he trust Susan to help him and not blab about the details to everyone around her.

It was a recurring thought Barry struggled with the rest of the day. In the end, he decided that he would do his own research into the Mystery Men and see how accurate Sue's skills were before trusting her with any of his own information. It could, after all, be nothing but tabloid nonsense.

Before he realized it, he was walking to the locker room with Donny for his last class of the day. It was day three of gymnastics and their group – today a trio because Winslow had cut class – were assigned to the parallel bars. As usual, Donny excelled at the this like everything else gymnastics-related. His form was perfect – how he wasn't selected to be part of the US Olympic team was mind boggling.

Barry's attempt wasn't too horrible – nowhere near Donny's level – but he had managed a flip without much problem. Miguel, on the other hand, seemed to struggle with this one. Donny laughed a bit as he struggled to maintain his balance on the bars. “I think you're out of your depth today,” he said with a chuckle. “Parallel bars are all about arm strength, not leg strength.”

Miguel dropped to the mats with a plunk. “I haven't had any complaints about my arms, yet, amigo” he said with a smile as he popped out his bicep. He added a wink to Barry once Donny had turned away causing the red flush to reappear on his cheeks.

Mr. Holt blew his whistle and the class rotated to the next station.

“This is where that leg strength will come in handy,” Donny said to Miguel as they approached the pommel horse. “I'll show you guys a few basic vaults and then we can rotate turns.”

Miguel leaned his arm on Barry's shoulder, more focused on the blushing blonde than on Donny's demonstrations. They were close enough that Barry could smell a faint hint of peppermint on the other boy's breath.

“Do I make you nervous?” Miguel said, almost as if he had whispered it.

“No,” Barry said, trying to sound sincere.

Miguel laughed. “You are a horrible liar, amigo. Why are you so afraid of me?”

“I'm not afraid of you,” Barry said. “More like... confused by you.”

“Ohhhh... I think I get it now,” Miguel said, smacking his forehead. “You're not out are you?” he added in a whisper.

Barry looked a bit shocked. “You mean 'out of the closet?'” he whispered back. Miguel nodded his head. “Well, I sort of am. My dad knows and my close friends back home, er, back in Keystone. No one here though – except for you I guess.”

“So, what's the problem? I'm gay, you're gay – obviously, I'm super into you...”

“Wait, you're 'into me' into me?” Barry asked, a bit surprised.

Miguel laughed again. “Duh, why did you think I've been flirting with you all week? Don't tell me that a guy's never hit on you before?”

Barry shook his head no.

“Seriously!?!” Miguel nearly shouted. “Cute guy like you, everyone in Keystone must be blind.”

“Uh, guys, have you even been paying attention to a single thing I've been doing?” Donny asked as he walked up to them. “And Mr. Holt's giving you guys the evil eye, so I'd get jumping if you don't wanna run laps after class.”

“How about I show you what these legs can do,” Miguel said, winking at Barry again before he jogged off.

“Soooo... whatever I just interrupted seemed pretty intense...” Donny said.

“Uh, maybe a bit,” Barry admitted.

“Miguel can be pretty direct. I don't think he was born with a filter.” Donny paused for a moment as they watched Miguel's vault. “And it's pretty obvious from all the flirting he's attracted to you...”

Barry's face reddened even more than he thought possible. “Was it that obvious?” he squeaked out.

Donny laughed. “Very obvious. And I'm guessing from all the blushing it's a mutual attraction?”

Donny knew. He knew the entire time and never said a word.

Barry was relieved when Mr. Holt blew his whistle ending class. He hadn't been able to focus on anything he was doing knowing that Miguel's eyes were watching him. He kept tripping over his own feet and barely made it over the pommel horse when he jumped. But class was finally over and he could try to breathe again.

Donny hadn't said a word more about any of it, though Barry could feel like he had a million questions he wanted to ask. He changed as quickly as he could, but before he made it out of the locker room, he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

“Hola, guapo,” Miguel said as he slid his arm around Barry's shoulder. “I thought maybe we could hang out this weekend. You know, find a quiet place to talk away from our idiota classmates.”

“Uh, maybe. I'll have to check with my dad first,” he said, not realizing how lame that sounded until the words left his mouth.

“I hope you both say 'yes,'” he said with another wink. Miguel slid his arm off of Barry's shoulder, but rather than remove it completely, he slid his hand across Barry's chest to drop a slip of paper into his shirt pocket. Without another word, he disappeared down the hall and into the rush of exiting students.

Barry couldn't believe that a cute, popular jock had been flirting with him. Or that Miguel had asked him out on a date. He did mean that comment as a date, right? Barry was so flustered by Miguel that he didn't even realize he'd been walking until he heard the honk of his dad's car breaking him from his stupor. 

“It must've been quite a rough gym class today,” Henry said as Barry settled into the passenger seat beside him.

“What?” he asked. How did his dad know what happened in gym class? Was it that apparent to everyone?

“You're face is still pretty flushed,” his dad responded. “I was just thinking you had a really vigorous class today.”

“Uh, yeah. You could say that,” he answered as his dad put the car into gear and pulled into the line of traffic. Barry suddenly remembered the note in his pocket. He pulled out the slip of notebook paper and unfolded it. Written in purple ink – of course Miguel would own a purple ink pen – in a slanting, loopy script were the words “Call me” followed by his number.

*****

After a quick and mostly-quiet dinner, Barry rushed through his few homework assignments so he could spend some time online. An hour later and he was putting away his calculus book and reaching for his laptop. When Barry logged in to his Chatter account, he saw several familiar names were also online: Iris West, Kaitlin Snow, and Ronnie Raymond. He had only be online for thirty seconds when an invitation to join a group chat popped up in a window. He quickly accepted, eager to chat with his old friends.

FuturePhotog: BARRY!

Sn0w_Angel: Barry!!! Miss you!

RedhotRonnE: Hey bro! Welcome back to the land of the living!!!

FuturePhotog: OMG, Ronnie! Not cool

Sci_Guy_Barr: LOL  
Hey guys! I miss you too  
Thanks for all the cards and emails and stuff

FuturePhotog: Hows the new school?

Sci_Guy_Barr: It's OK so far  
I met some cool people, but I really do miss all of you 

Sn0w_Angel: aww <3

Sci_Guy_Barr: Kaitlin, you would LUV the chem lab here!  
AND there's a project we're going to work on judged by Mercury Labs

Sn0w_Angel: ← Jealous!

FuturePhotog: Hey Ronnie, maybe we should leave and let them geek out in peace

RedhotRonnE: LOL agree

Sn0w_Angel: Hey Barry, guess who asked Iris to the movies this weekend???

FuturePhotog: Shut up Kaitlin!

Sci_Guy_Barr: A date? WHO???

Sn0w_Angel: EDDIE!

Sci_Guy_Barr: ???  
Eddie who?

RedhotRonnE: Eddie Thawne, remember him?

Sci_Guy_Barr: Eddie Thawne!?!?! Really?!?!?

FuturePhotog: Shut up! He's really sweet

Sn0w_Angel: and really HOTTT! 

RedhotRonnE: Kaitlin! >:(

FuturePhotog: kaitlin!!! shut up!!!!

Sn0w_Angel: sorry Ronnie, but he is kinda cute now :P

Sci_Guy_Barr: really????

RedhotRonnE: his dad sent him to military camp or something and he got super fit

FuturePhotog: but thats NOT why I said yes!!!!  
ANYWAY... anyone caught your eye yet, Barry?

Sn0w_Angel: yeah, Barry? Spill!

Sci_Guy_Barr: Well...  
There is this one guy who's been flirting with me the past few days

FuturePhotog: ???  
Details mister!

Sci_Guy_Barr: His name is Miguel. He's pretty hot  
he's soccer captain and super-popular  
He started eyeing me like day one

FuturePhotog: and...????????

Sn0w_Angel: are you into him?

Sci_Guy_Barr: I dunno, kinda  
He gave me his number today...  
but it's already hard enough being the new kid, let alone the GAY new kid

FuturePhotog: CALL HIM!!!!!  
who cares what anyone else thinks!  
A few more months and you'll be out of there and off to Hudson anyway

Sn0w_Angel: we still love you Barry, no matter what anyone else says

RedhotRonnE: go for it bro! We've got your back no matter what happens

Sci_Guy_Barr: thanks guys!  
That just makes me miss you even more

FuturePhotog: I hate to cut out, but I gotta go eat dinner  
You know how dad gets when he's hungry

RedhotRonnE: me too, later bro! Keep in touch

Sn0w_Angel: good night Barry!  
Next time you better have a pic of Miguel for us to see

FuturePhotog: Later Barry! Text me how things turn out with Miguel

Sci_Guy_Barr: talk to you guys later!

Barry logged out of the chat and powered down his laptop. It had been nice to chat with his friends like old times – even if it was only for a few minutes – but things seemed different now. Their lives seemed to be moving on without him... Iris was dating? Would she have said 'yes' to Eddie if Barry were still hanging around in her shadow?

He needed to clear his head. Barry quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and slipped on his sneakers. There was a park nearby where he had seen people walking their dogs, but it looked like a nice place to run a few laps and organize his thoughts. He yelled a quick word to his dad – who was preoccupied with washing the dishes – and headed out.

It was nearly seven when he reached the park and, in the pink light of the setting sun, he saw only an elderly woman walking her small, white dog. She waved and smiled as he jogged past, though he was sure he heard “Pookie” give a small growl.

He felt betrayed by his friends. But it wasn't their fault that he had been knocked into a half-year coma and moved into another state. Heck, he couldn't even blame his father for wanting to get away from the city where his mother had been killed. There was no one he could blame, no one but the man in yellow that he saw the night his mother died. Just picturing the blurry figure filled him with rage.

His heart beat faster as the anger built inside him. He clenched his fists harder until he thought they would bleed as he pumped his limbs faster and harder. He closed his eyes and let out an angry scream...

Barry felt a strange tingle run through his body and his vision blurred. He stopped running afraid he might have pushed himself too much and had a relapse. He looked around, but he didn't recognize his surroundings. He wasn't in the dog park, he knew that for certain, but rather an empty parking lot.

Confused, he walked to the street corner and looked at the street names. Third Street and St. Charles Avenue, neither sounded familiar. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, quickly putting the location into his map.

“4.7 miles from home?!? That can't be right.” Barry said to himself. But it seemed to be accurate. There was the Big Belly Burger on the opposite corner and the Commonwealth Trust Bank a few buildings away just like his map showed. 

Barry was a logical, intelligent person and he could only come to one conclusion. He actually ran here – he ran the nearly five mile distance in under a minute. As a scientist, he knew that after formulating a hypothesis, next you had to test it. And as silly as it sounded, he was going to have to run – fast.

At first, he started at a slow jog, then broke into a run trying to push himself to his limit. Instead of letting his mind wander like it had before, he focused. He felt ridiculous and nearly stopped. And then he felt that same tingle again. Like static electricity built up from wearing a sweater under his wool winter coat. He turned his head slightly and saw that the cars driving past him had slowed to a crawl.

Fifty two seconds later, Barry was standing outside his house. He wasn't even breathing heavily like he normally did after running laps. A small smile crept across his face as he headed up the stairs to the front door.

“Wow, that was quick,” his dad said when he walked into the living room. “Did you have a good run?”

Barry's small smile broke into a large grin. “Amazing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've read this far, thank you! I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. Today we got a peek at Barry using his super-speed as well as guest appearances from some familiar Flash characters. Sorry if the "Chatter" part was a bit hard to read, I'm still trying to figure out how to work this site.
> 
> Next Thursday, I'll be posting Chapter 4 - Thursday: Len's POV


	4. Thursday: Len's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len's day has a rough start, he examines his feelings for Barry, and we meet Lewis for the first time (Spoilers: he's a jerk).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to everyone who's been reading this series, I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Len had just dropped-off Lisa at the bus stop and was slowly making his own way to school. It was another oddly cold day for September which prompted the local weatherman to predict an early and long winter. Len didn't care. He welcomed the cold and the way it sharpened his mind and senses. Winter also meant that his birthday would be quickly approaching and he would soon be eighteen.

He had been looking into the legal side of his plan to become Lisa's legal guardian for quite some time. It was a long process but, if his time table was accurate, he and Lisa could move away from Central City after his graduation. They could live in Metropolis or Coast City or anywhere in between so long as it was far, far away from Lewis Snart.

Len was suddenly drawn out of his thoughts when he felt something tug on his backpack. He stopped and looked over his shoulder to see a burly man in a red hoodie with his fist gripping onto the bag. The guy was probably no older than Len, though the layer of black facial scruff and dark rings under his eyes made him appear much older.

“My friend asked you a question,” he said, pointing to a scrawny, pale guy in a similar red hoodie leaning against the brick wall. “It's not polite to ignore people.”

The skinny guy laughed at his friend's attempt to intimidate Len. “You got a light, man?” he slurred around the cigarette already hanging between his lips.

Without changing his expression, Len responded dryly: “Sorry, boys, I don't smoke.”

The larger guy huffed, clearly upset that Len was remaining cool despite his scare tactics. “Maybe we should just check you're bag – you know, in case you're lying to us,” he said tugging the backpack.

Len let the bag slide off his shoulder as the guy pulled on it. The weight of the books inside momentarily threw the guy off balance, which is exactly what he had intended. Len spun quickly, grabbing the collar of the bulky man's hoodie and used the momentum to smash his knee into the guy's face. He fell to sidewalk with a thud and a groan, clutching his bleeding nose.

As his friend fell, the thin man swung at Len's face but was too slow. Len grabbed his wrist and swung him around into the brick wall. A quick punch and he was laying on the sidewalk next to his friend. Len grabbed his bag off the ground and swung it over his shoulder. “You should quit smoking – it's bad for your health,” he said before calmly walking away.

Thanks to his encounter, Len was nearly late for school. As he settled into his seat, he made a mental note to take different routes for the next week or two, just in case. He was sure that those two punks would be watching for him and with a few friends as back-up, too. 

The bell rang for first period and Len headed to his math class. Before he could even sit, he heard Coach Holt's voice from the doorway. “Snart, come with me,” he bellowed.

“Ooooh, busted! Someone's in trouble,” Hank chided as he walked past.

Len and Coach Holt walked down the quickly-emptying hallway. “You're not in trouble,” he said. “At least not any trouble that I'm aware of.”

The pair entered the admissions office and turned into the guidance councilor's door which was slightly ajar. Miss Watson was seated behind her desk and smiled widely as they entered. “Mr. Snart, have a seat.”

Len sat in the offered chair as Coach closed the door before taking a seat along the back wall. “I have some amazing news for you,” Miss Watson continued. “I was just contacted by Hudson University. Apparently, they had a scout in the audience at last Friday's tournament and he was very, very impressed by you're skills. They want to offer you a full scholarship!”

Contrary to his blank expression, Len's stomach was doing flips. Hudson University, the top university in the state – and one of the premiere colleges in the country – wanted him? Until this point, Len hadn't considered college an option. He was a mediocre student and, even if he wanted to, there was no possible way that he could afford it.

“Isn't that exciting?” Miss Watson asked, probing for a reaction. 

Exciting? Yes. But going to Hudson would mean four more years in Central City. If he and Lisa left the state, or even just the city, Lewis wouldn't even be bothered to chase after them. But remaining here meant that he would always be just around the corner waiting for a chance to encroach on their lives again.

“I think I'll pass,” he said after a moment.

“Leonard, I don't think you understand what an opportunity this is,” Coach Holt countered. “This can change your life. Hudson is a Top Ten school and the Hudson Hawks have won multiple national championships. This is the chance of a lifetime.”

“Exactly,” Miss Watson added, her smile now gone. “This is a one-time offer. If you say 'no' to it now, there's no changing your mind later. At least think about it for a week or two. I'll tell them that you need time to consider other options before making a decision. If you change your mind, and I hope that you do, come and see either myself or Mr. Holt, okay?”

Len didn't think that he would be changing his mind any time soon, but he agreed to at least consider the offer – if only to get them off his back. Miss Watson wrote him a pass and he returned to his math class. Of course, Hank wouldn't leave him alone for the remainder of the period, constantly jabbing him with his pencil and whispering for details about what had happened. Len ignored him as best he could and, after class, he quickly made his way to chemistry before Hank could follow him.

Once class started, Mr. Mendez had the class immediately assemble at their lab tables. The final exercise was rather involved and would take the entire period to complete so rather than lecture, he allowed the class to jump right into the assignment. “While you're setting up the experiment, I'm going to remind you all that we have our end-of-chapter test tomorrow and on Monday we'll be meeting to discuss ideas for your project. I'm going to upload a study guide to the class forum that I highly recommend you all download since we won't be having a review today.”

Len scribbled a quick note as a reminder. He didn't have a home computer, so he'd have to make sure to stop at the library and print a copy before he left for the day. It's not like Mr. Mendez's tests were too difficult – he used mostly multiple choice questions – but he always managed to sneak in a few tricky questions like asking for the step-by-step process of their lab exercises. Unlike some of the other instructors, Mr. Mendez wanted his students to pass and gave them every tool he could to help them succeed.

“You're not worried about the test, are you, Len?” Barry asked, seeming to notice the distracted look on his face.

“Of course not,” he said, refocusing his attention. “I just have a lot on my mind today.”

“Well, someone once told me that we're all allowed to have our bad days,” Barry said with a smile.

Len couldn't help but grin at Barry as his own words were used against him. 

“If you need to talk to anyone, I'm good listener,” Barry said, his voice taking on a serious tone. “I know we barely know each other, but I'm still here if you need me.”

Len's smile dropped and he tried to make his expression as cold as possible. “I'm fine, kid. Don't mistake what we've got as anything more than accidental lab partners.”

Barry's ears turned pink in what Len could only guess to be anger. He'd only wanted to help and Len had all but slapped him in the face at the offer. Barry walked away to gather supplies from the closet in all likelihood thinking about what a jerk Len was being. The kid had no way of knowing how he really felt about him or why he was pushing him away. In fact, he was doing Barry a favor.

Still, Len felt this burning in his chest when he saw Barry returning with his arms loaded. He was going to do something he would never do under normal circumstances: apologize. 

“Let me give you a hand with those,” he said getting up from his stool to unburden Barry. “I, uh... I'm sorry,” he said nearly chocking on the words as he said them. “I didn't really mean what I said, I just... I don't usually let people get too close to me.”

Barry's look softened. “I can understand that. And I don't want to pry... I just want you to know that if you ever need someone to talk to, there's someone here to listen.” 

Len nodded, and it seemed Barry didn't need words to know they were on the same page. And that's how much of the period continued. Barry explained a lot about the exercise and why they would get certain reactions. Most of it Len already knew from reading the chapter, but he let Barry explain things just so he could hear him talk – there was a passion in his voice that showed he loved science.

“I've been meaning to ask you about getting together to brainstorm ideas for the project,” Barry said as they waited for their solution to react.

“I've already got a few ideas,” Len responded. Barry seemed slightly surprised at first but it quickly turned into wide grin. “Maybe after school today we can discuss them.”

“Uh, today's not going to work. I've already got something planned for tonight... How about tomorrow?”

“I have wrestling practice Friday nights. But Lisa will be at her friend's all day Saturday if you're free.”

“No, Saturday works for me. I'll double-check with my dad to make sure we don't have anything going on, but you're welcome to come over to my house. Unless you'd rather we work at your place?”

“Your place would be better. Or we could meet at the library or something.”

“Nah, my place is much more comfortable.” Barry reached into his bag and pulled out a small notebook. He scribbled his cell number and address onto the pad, removed the sheet, and handed it to Len. “It's in the Danville area, not far from the hospital. Do you know it?”

“Hmm, should be easy to find. I'll call if I get lost,” Len said with a smirk as he carefully folded the paper and slid it into his pocket. “When do you want me?”

Barry's cheeks flushed a brief pink and Len wondered if maybe he was imagining it. “Uh, how does ten sound?”

“Ten is fine,” Len said.

Len would be in Barry's house. Alone with Barry – well, mostly alone. Definitely more alone than they were at school. Or that one time he saw him at the grocery store. Maybe he should have insisted on meeting somewhere more public. A place with distractions where he could find things to watch other than those blue-green eyes and that perfect smile.

*****

It had been relatively uneventful the rest of the day. Len couldn't avoid Hank forever and slipped him a few details about recruiters watching the last game. As captain, Len would naturally be included in the talks with Coach Holt about such news concerning the team. Hank seemed to buy the half-truths with little convincing and eventually let the matter drop. He refused to mention anything about the potential scholarship to anyone else, especially Lisa – she would only encourage him to accept even if it meant leaving her alone with Lewis.

Lisa was waiting for him at the library as she normally did until he collected her and talked excitedly about her upcoming sleepover with her best friend Shawna Baez. The two had been instant friends since their first day of school and Tomas, Shawna's father, allowed Lisa to spend the night whenever Len had a wrestling tournament or other obligations. He tried not to take advantage of the offer too often, he didn't want Tomas to feel burdened and he didn't like leaving his sister out of his sight for too long, anyway.

As they neared their house, Len couldn't help but notice a shiny, black town car parked at the curb. Instinctively, he pushed Lisa behind him as he stopped and studied the vehicle. It was too discernible to be an undercover cop car and too expensive to belong to a child welfare worker. There was also the off-chance that Lewis had stolen the car, but it didn't seem his usual type.

Len knelt so he was eye-level with his sister. “Lisa, why don't you wait in your special spot for a little until I make sure everything is okay. If you see or hear anything bad, wait until it's safe and run to Shawna's house, got it?”

Lisa nodded and stayed close behind Len until they entered through the rusty gate. When Len gave the signal, she ran to the edge of the house and disappeared into the bushes and into a small crawlspace under the porch. Once he knew his sister was out of sight, he quietly walked up the front steps. From inside, he could hear the voice of his father and another man along with their occasional laughter.

He opened the creaky door and stepped into the living room. A few steps in and he could see his father and the other man seated at the table in the kitchen, laughing and drinking beers. He recognized the other man instantly. It was his father's old cellmate Joe Leeds, also known as “Lanky Leeds.” He was a tall, thin man – hence the name “Lanky” – with straw-like hair currently slicked-back with too much gel. He had grown a mustache since the last time Len had seen him, which had been about two years.

“Hey, there's my boy!” Lewis shouted, seeing Len through the breezeway. “You remember my buddy Lanky, don'tcha?”

It was obvious that the beer was just starting to take effect. This was “Good-Time Lewis” who enjoyed talking and being sociable as the buzz of alcohol took effect. After this came “Bad-News Lewis,” who had lots of regrets about his life and often punished his children for his own mistakes.

Len nodded as he walked into the kitchen and shook Lanky's outstretched hand. “You got big since I saw you last time,” Joe slurred. “You look just like your dad.”

Len suppressed the cringe he felt at being compared to Lewis. “Yeah, I bet he's bangin' all the chicks, just like yer old man did back in the day,” his father answered. The two laughed as they finished off their beers.

“I've got homework, see you later,” Len said, turning to leave.

“Get us some more beers while you're up. Oh, and some chips.”

Len collected the empty bottles and grabbed some fresh beers from the refrigerator.

“So where was I?” Lanky said taking a swig from his new bottle. 

“You were telling me about the idiot that hired your dumbass to do a job for him,” Lewis laughed.

“Hey now, better be nice to me or I'm not cutting you in,” he said. “Anyway, this guy asked for me specific – told Mario I was perfect for the job. Like I said, easy money. All I gotta do is steal some case from the this guy's room.”

“What's in it cash? Diamonds?”

“Dunno. Some sort of machine or something. The guy's a scientist here for that expo thing next week. All I gotta do is snatch the case and deliver it. He even got me the car and a special suit to wear and everything. Easy money right?”

Len rolled his eyes as he emptied the bag of potato chips into a bowl. Lanky Leeds really was an idiot if he thought everything was that simple. Clearly there was more to this job than there appeared if the guy was offering him cars and suits upfront to sweeten the deal. From the look on Lewis's face when Len sat the bowl on the table, he thought so, too.

“So what do you want from me if it's such an 'easy' job?” he asked.

“Well there's camera's an stuff right? I gotta have someone who knows how to bypass the feeds. Maybe cause a blackout afterwards so I can make my getaway.”

Len heard enough. If his dad was foolish enough to get involved in this scheme, that was on him. He slipped out of the kitchen while Lewis was still pondering the offer. 

Once in his room, Len locked his door then quietly opened his window and dropped out onto the hard ground below. He made his way over to the bushes and whispered Lisa's name, telling her it was safe to come out. A few seconds later and Lisa had appeared beside him. They quietly made their way back to his window and he lifted her up to the ledge so she could she climb in. He then passed through her backpack before climbing in himself.

Len kept some food and bottles of water hidden in his room – as did Lisa – in case of situations like these. About two hours later, he heard the talking stop and the front door slam. From his window, he could just make out Lewis and Lanky getting into the black car and driving off. He made his way out of the room carefully checking that they were indeed alone before he signaled to Lisa. 

Not knowing how long they would have until Lewis's return, Len quickly heated some tomato soup and fried some grilled cheese. Lisa changed into her pajamas and brought her pillow and Mr. Wubbles – the patchwork teddybear – to Len's room. Odds are that Lewis would come home stinking drunk, and it would be better if Lisa spent the night in Len's room where he could protect her should the need arise.

They did their homework and talked until Lisa fell asleep. Len double-checked that his door was locked and then crawled into bed beside his sister. He grabbed his latest paperback – a worn copy of “Nine Stories” by JD Salinger – and flipped open to the page with a turned-down corner. He had only read one line before he closed his book and dropped it on the bed beside him.

He grabbed his neatly-folded jeans from the chair at his desk and reached into the pocket to retrieve Barry's note. He settled back into his spot on the bed and unfolded the paper. He smiled as he looked at it, noting how certain letters ran together because of how rapidly the kid wrote. With handwriting this awful, the kid would make an excellent doctor.

Len refolded the paper and placed it in the book as his new marker. He didn't want to lose the note or accidentally send it through the laundry, but even if he did, he had already memorized the information on it. 

As he lay in the darkened room, he tried to imagine Barry's house. It was probably a two-story house with immaculate flower beds and a green, freshly-mowed lawn surrounded by a white picket fence. Barry and his dad would be playing catch in the front yard while a puppy – likely named Spot – ran between them trying to snag the ball.

The scene changes in his mind to a snow-covered lawn and a wreath on the front door. Inside, there is a giant Christmas tree surrounded by presents and a crackling fireplace with a sleeping dog curled in front of it being loving stroked by Lisa. Len is seated on the plush, red sofa, the gentle tune of carols playing in the background. Barry appears holding a tray with three mugs of cocoa and stocking-shaped cookies which he sits on the coffee table before settling onto the sofa next to Len. Henry joins them carrying a mug of his own and sits on the chair beside them. Barry slides and arm around Len and rests his head on his shoulder in the curve of his neck. Henry gently smiles rather than give them the look of disgust he would expect from Lewis. The vision suddenly melts away and Len is faced with the darkness of his reality once more. 

Staring through the dark at the cracked ceiling, Len had come to a conclusion – Barry Allen was dangerous. It had only been four days and Barry had managed to do something impossible: he'd somehow managed to find a chink in Len's once-impenetrable armor. With enough time it would all fall apart. His soul would be exposed, like a raw nerve, unable to protect itself from damage. Barry would have access to every part of him – and for a moment, Len wondered if that would be such a bad thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "Hudson Hawks" of the (fictional) prestigious Hudson University are named for Hudson Hawk from the movie of the same name. It's just awful enough to be one of my favorite movies.
> 
> Also, Len is reading "Nine Stories" which happens to be one of my favorite books, too.
> 
> The upcoming chapter is Friday from Barry's POV to be posted next Friday. I'm really happy with how this next part turned out.


	5. Friday: Barry's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry's big date with Miguel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to those of you who continue to support me by reading this story. I'm having a lot of fun writing it, I hope you're enjoying it just as much as I am.

Barry pulled the blankets and pillow over his head in an effort to drown out the sound of his alarm. He'd had quite the eventful night testing his new speed abilities, but the efforts had drained his energy. He spent at least an hour racing around the city, testing his ability to maneuver at high speeds – dodging obstacles on the highway, making sharp turns without slowing, even testing his velocity on different terrain. In the two weeks since he'd woken from his coma, he saw little of Central City other than his house, the hospital, and his school. Now, in just a few minutes, he had toured most of the city and seen nearly every tourist attraction it had to offer.

However, even after a full night of testing, he still had no idea how fast he was actually moving. His best calculations had him moving at a speed of at least 200 mph. He needed to find equipment that could keep up with him and give him more accurate results. He couldn't improve if he didn't know where he stood. With practice, he was positive that he could even manage to break the sound barrier.

During his tour of the city, he'd found an abandoned air field with a landing strip in decent shape that would make the perfect testing zone. It was far enough from the prying eyes of pedestrians and passing traffic that he could practice in relative isolation. The problem again was finding ways of measuring his speed.

Barry's stomach growled. He could suddenly smell the scents of coffee and bacon creeping into his bedroom. Food definitely won out over sleep. He zipped out from beneath his blankets and quickly made his bed and picked-up his dirty laundry before heading into the kitchen.

“Morning, kiddo,” Henry said when he saw Barry enter the kitchen. “You seem more awake than usual this morning.”

“I'm just hungrier than normal, I guess. I could smell the bacon from my room.”

“Uh, huh...” his dad said with a grin. “This extra energy wouldn't have anything to do with this guy you're seeing tonight would it?”

Barry blushed. He almost forgot that he and Miguel were going out tonight. They had been texting most the night trying to decide on a plan when they settled on the classic “dinner and a movie” date. There was a new sci-fi movie Barry had wanted to see and he was surprised that it was something Miguel was interested in seeing, too.

“So what's the plan again?” Henry asked, loading Barry's plate with scrambled eggs and bacon. “I'm picking you up after school and bringing you home to shower and change, right?”

“Yeah, and then I need to meet Miguel at quarter to six at the Millennium Plaza Theater. There's a bunch of restaurants nearby, so I'm not sure where we're eating, yet, but the movie starts at eight.”

“And don't forget...”

“I know, home before midnight,” Barry said interrupting him.

“Well, you're going to have a beautiful night for your date,” his dad added. “The weather station says there's a warm front moving in for the weekend. Oh, and speaking of a nice weekend, I thought about grilling some chicken for lunch tomorrow for you and your lab buddy, Leonard.”

“Len, dad. I don't think he likes being called Leonard – much like I don't like being called Bartholomew.”

“Well, Bartholomew,” his dad said jokingly. “I hope you cleaned-up your room last night night like I told you or Len is going to think a tornado blew through.”

“It's all taken care of, dad,” he said with a smile. Barry wolfed down his plate of food and even had seconds before rushing off to get his shower.

The entire ride to school, Barry nervously tapped his foot reminding himself several times to relax so that it didn't vibrate at super-speed. In between texting Miguel last night, he had sent a message to Iris telling her about the his date. Knowing how shy he was normally, she was thrilled that he had found someone so quickly. Of course, she seemed a bit distracted as she was planning for her own date with Eddie Thawne – which Barry still couldn't believe.

He wished Iris was here now, she would know exactly what to say to calm his nerves. He really needed someone to talk to about it. For now, Donny was the only person at school – other than Miguel, obviously – that knew about the date and he was hoping it would stay that way, at least until this first one was out of the way. He trusted Donny not to say anything. The two of them had become friends rather quickly and, while he could never take the place of Iris, he missed her and his other friends less when Donny was around.

Once his first class started, Barry managed to regain a bit of his focus. Mrs. Russo – the short, round French teacher – had the class break into pairs to translate blocks of text. Naturally, he and Donny teamed-up to tackle the assignment and, as he hoped, he didn't mention anything about the date with Miguel.

After class, they parted ways and Barry walked to chemistry with Natasha and Mal. The chapter test had been a piece of cake and, even if he hadn't reviewed the chapter, Barry was sure he would've still aced it. Mr. Mendez gave the class the option of spending the last few minutes working on their reading assignment for the weekend or brainstorming ideas with their project partners. Barry glanced over at Len who was engrossed in his paperback again and seemed to have no interest in “brainstorming” today, so he pulled out his chemistry book and jumped into the reading assignment.

The day continued smoothly until lunch when Barry saw Miguel for the first time today. He was wearing a tight, white tanktop with an unbuttoned navy and cyan plaid shirt over it. The moment he saw Barry, he winked and smiled. Barry blushed and he heard Donny chuckle in the seat next to him.

“What's so funny?” Sue asked taking the seat next to him.

“Oh, nothing,” Donny said still laughing. “Just Barry being Barry.”

“How's your day going, Sue?” Barry asked, desperate to change the subject.

“Ugh, Johnathan rejected my new article so Mr. Kline assigned me to write about the groundbreaking for that new lab on Sunday,” she said with a frown.

“You're going to the S.T.A.R. Labs groundbreaking ceremony? I wanted to go, but my dad has to work,” Barry said.

“Well you're more than welcome to tag along if you want. Maybe if you're there I won't be bored outta my mind.”

“I hesitate to ask, but what story did Carroll reject?” Donny asked. “Not another Mystery Men piece, I hope.”

“No, but just as awesome and unbelievable,” she said, excited to talk about it. “Apparently there was this weird weather phenomena occurring throughout the city last night. I found seven reports that people saw streaks of lighting on the highway. And I don't mean in the sky, like ground-level and zigzagging between cars.”

Barry nearly choked on his orange juice. “That's, uh, not physically possible,” he stammered out.

“I know! I don't think it was lightning per se, but maybe something traveling really, really fast. Some new vehicle that Mercury Labs is testing for the military or something, maybe.”

“That almost makes sense,” Nat said. “Something moving at a high-enough velocity could build-up static electricity from the friction and leave a 'lightning trail' behind it.” 

“Yeah, but it would have to be something small to have the maneuverability Sue's talking about,” Mal added. “Like a motorcycle or something smaller.”

“But it would be impossible to track something moving that fast, right?” Barry asked.

“Difficult, but not impossible,” Natasha said. “You could use LIDAR to gauge it's speed. Once you know how fast it's moving you could calculate it's trajectory. Something moving that fast won't be easy to maneuver.”

Sue was furiously scribbling notes as they talked. “Pretend for a moment that some of us aren't science nerds and explain to me what this “lidar” thing is?”

Nat rolled her eyes and laughed. “It's like radar but instead of using sound to track an object's speed, it uses a laser. Since light travels faster than sound, you can get a more accurate measurement.”

“Police have switched over to it to nab speeders,” Mal said.

“As my lead-footed boyfriend can attest,” Natasha said, patting Mal's hand.

Barry pretended not to worry, but he would have to be much more careful in the future. He assumed that at the speed he was moving, no one could see him – he didn't realize he'd been leaving a “lightning trail” in his wake. And if a bunch of science geeks postulating around a cafeteria table could come up with ways of tracking him, then surely the military or someone else could do the same.

Barry was nervous the rest of day, something that didn't go unnoticed by Donny. He hadn't said anything the last two classes, but when they got to the locker rooms, he couldn't help but ask if Barry was alright.

“Nervous about the date tonight?” Donny whispered.

“What? Uh, yeah... the date,” Barry replied. Again, he nearly forgot about his night out with Miguel because of his burgeoning powers. “It's my first date with a guy. Actually, my first date ever.”

“Miguel's a great guy. Just be yourself, he already likes you so you don't have to pretend to be someone you're not.”

Barry smiled. “My friend Iris said the same thing. You know, you remind me a lot of her.”

Out in the gym, Coach Holt had them get into their groups and continue on their cycle through the gymnastics areas. Miguel was rather subdued today, not nearly as chatty as he normally was during class and Barry couldn't help but wonder if he was nervous about their plans this evening, too. It gave him a bit of satisfaction knowing that even attractive, popular guys like Miguel still got butterflies on first dates.

The whistle to change stations had sounded all too quickly meaning that class was halfway through. Barry and the others switched to the ring station where, as usual, Donny demonstrated some superb skills. Just reaching the rings was tough enough for Barry, let alone trying to do any sort of tricks while maintaining his grip. He dropped to the floor with a thud and rubbed his wrists. Miguel went next but had similar issues and was quickly defeated. 

The trio then encouraged Winslow – who had shown up for class today – to at least make an attempt so Mr. Holt wouldn't fail him. He rolled his eyes but finally gave in to them. Winslow jumped and grabbed the rings, hanging and gently swaying but not making any further effort. After about twenty seconds, his face began to redden and Barry could see the strain on his face. He was looking at the ground, but seemed almost too afraid to drop down to the mat. Instead his hand slipped and he swung wildly before the other let go and he landed with a with a loud thunk and groan.

Donny, who was standing closest, was instantly on the floor where Winslow was grabbing his ankle and sobbing. Coach Holt appeared suddenly and was kneeling beside them assessing the situation. He sent Donny to get the nurse and had Barry and Miguel help Winslow limp to his office in the locker room. They stayed with him for a few minutes while Mr. Holt dismissed the class. They stayed until the nurse arrived and made her diagnosis – a twisted ankle that should be better in a few days – before they left to get changed.

The locker room was quiet and empty as the rest of the class had rushed away to start their weekend. Miguel didn't even stay to change, he grabbed his bag from his locker and left with a quick wave. Barry had just pulled on his pants and was grabbing his t-shirt when he saw someone coming around the corner into his row of lockers.

Just feet away from him was a wet, half-naked Len – a blue towel wrapped around his waist – obviously fresh from the shower. His chest was broad and smooth and he had a well-defined six pack that was still dusted with droplets of water. Barry blushed and quickly looked away, pulling on his shirt as fast as he could manage.

Donny, who seemed nonplussed by the situation simply said: “Hi, Len.”

Len nodded in response and sat on the bench to dig through his gym bag. Without looking at either of them, he said: “I thought everyone had already left.”

“Winslow fell off the rings in class and we were with him in Coach's office. The nurse said it's just a sprained ankle, nothing serious,” Donny said.

Barry slipped on his sneaker and followed Donny out the door, breathing a sigh of relief to be away from the naked Len. They had only taken a few steps when Donny stopped. “Are you so excited for your date that you're leaving your bag?” he asked.

He'd actually been in a rush to leave to get away from Len before the boy saw him drooling over his amazing body. “I guess so,” he said as he turned to head back into the locker room. “Have a nice weekend.”

Barry pushed open the door to the locker room and held his breath. Maybe he could use his super-speed to zip in and out before Len had a chance to see him. Too risky, especially after the lunch discussion earlier. He entered the room and quickly made his way to his locker. Len was fully dressed and was trying his shoes when he looked up and saw Barry. He quickly fiddled with the lock and grabbed his bag.

In his peripheral vision, he could see the muscular form of Len wrapped in the tight red and white spandex singlet. Somehow it was almost worse than seeing him in the towel. Barry was certain that his face was red as a fire engine. He slammed his locker and started to walk away as fast as he could.

“See you tomorrow, Allen,” Len called out.

“Yeah, tomorrow...” he muttered without turning around.

Barry practically ran to his dad's car which was one of the last parked at the pick-up spot. “You're pretty late today, I was getting worried. Everything okay?” Henry asked.

“Uh, yeah. This kid fell off the rings in gym class and we had to take him to see the nurse. And I was in such a rush to leave, I forgot my bag and had to go back for it.” Barry blurted it all out so quickly that he wasn't sure his dad would even understand him.

“Is the kid alright? Nothing broken?” he asked.

“He's fine, just twisted his ankle when he landed.” 

Barry stared out the window the entire ride home, trying to keep images of Len out of his head. His big date with Miguel was in just a few hours and he had to prepare. The minute he was through the front door, he ran to his bedroom and tossed his bag on the bed. He stood there for a few minutes trying to decide what to do first. 

His stomach gurgled. Maybe a quick snack first. He grabbed a large glass and filled it with orange juice then snagged two granola bars from the cupboard and returned to his room where he rapidly devoured it all. His phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text from Miguel.

Miguel: Sorry I rushed out after classmates  
Are we still on for tonight???

Barry: Definitely  
I'm getting ready to shower now

Miguel: ;)  
See you soon!

Ugh, why did he have to mention getting a shower? Barry zipped out of his clothes and into the bathroom. He started the shower and quickly the small space filled with steam. He jumped under the hot spray and grabbed his lufa, squirting a generous dollop of body wash onto it. As the orange gel squirted out, he caught a whiff of it's citrus scent. Of course, what really made it “Energizing” was the added caffeine which made his skin tingle.

The hot water, the tingle of the suds, and the returning memory of Len half-naked and in his singlet caused Barry to feel a surge in his lower regions. He shouldn't even be thinking of Len right now, he should be thinking about Miguel. But thinking of a naked or spandex-clad Miguel would definitely not solve his “growing problem.” Barry reached for the shower handle and turned it from hot to ice cold – the blast of frigid water bringing him back to reality.

He dried off quickly and brushed his teeth then ran into his room. He spent the next hour speedily changing into different combinations of outfits until his entire closet was scattered on his bedroom floor. Ultimately, he settled on a white button-down shirt with a burgundy sweater vest and tan chinos. He surveyed the room and the mess for a moment then sped around at top speed re-hanging everything in his closet. He added a few spritzes of cologne, grabbed his phone, and headed out.

Traffic was horrible and Barry tapped his foot as he watched the minutes tick by while they sat at a red light. In two minutes, it would be quarter to six and he would be officially late for his first date. Barry sighed and his dad reassured him that it would be fine if he were a few minutes late. Barry pulled out his phone and selected Miguel's name from the list.

Barry: Stuck in traffic, almost there  
Sorry

Miguel: It's ok, so am I  
About 5 minutes away

Barry: Same

He felt a bit better knowing that Miguel had also underestimated the Friday night traffic and wasn't sitting outside the theater waiting. A few minutes later, Henry pulled the car up to sidewalk and Barry saw Miguel walking over from the parking lot. As expected, he was wearing a purple v-neck tee that hugged his body and a rugged denim jean that looked equally fitted.

“Is that him? Henry asked.

“That's Miguel,” he answered. “What do you think?”

“I think he needs a bigger size in that shirt,” his dad said with a laugh. “But he looks like a nice guy.”

Barry rolled his eyes. “Thanks for the ride, dad. I'll see you when I get home.”

“Before midnight,” he added.

“Before midnight, dad, I know.”

Miguel waved when he saw Barry getting out of the car and ran over. “Hola, Barry,” he said with that huge, gorgeous grin. He leaned down and waved into the car. “Hi, Mr. Allen. I'm Miguel, it's nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Miguel. You guys have fun tonight.”

Barry closed the car door and waved as his dad drove off. He was alone with Miguel at last and suddenly felt very aware of that fact. “So... you look great,” Barry said, trying to make small talk.

“Gracias. You, too. Hungry?”

“Starved,” Barry said honestly.

“Me, too. So, where do you want to eat? There's a Pizza Castle or the Firehouse Grill. Oh, and the Flying Tiger Wok if you like Chinese.”

“We had Chinese yesterday, but pizza or burgers are always good,” Barry said.

“Well, there's a Big Belly Burger around the corner, but I know some kids from school work there so I thought we might want to avoid it. How about the Firehouse Grill? They have an awesome burger menu and endless fries.”

“Sounds good,” Barry said, he stomach giving a small growl at the thought of food.

The restaurant was on the second floor of the plaza, so they grabbed an escalator. Miguel stood closely behind Barry, the other boy's strong forearm resting against his lower back as it gripped the handrail. At the top, they headed to the right where they saw the red brick facade with black, iron letters that read “The Firehouse Grill.” As they entered, Barry could smell the char-grilled burgers and fought to keep his stomach from roaring with hunger again.

It was still relatively early, but being the weekend the restaurant was already packed. There was a short queue waiting to be seated so they got in line. After a brief wait, the hostess – a young, dark haired girl with a “My Name is Patty” badge on her blouse – took their names and handed them a vibrating token that would alert them when their table was ready.

Barry and Miguel left the crowded waiting area and leaned against the brick front of the restaurant to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. “We could always try another place if you don't want to wait,” Miguel said as they watched even more people join the queue.

“No, it's fine. Every restaurant in the Plaza is going to be packed, it's a Friday night. Besides, the hostess said it wouldn't be too long of a wait.” As if on cue, the token started to vibrate and flash in Miguel's hand. “See that wasn't so bad.”

Back inside, they handed Patty their token and followed her to a small two-person table near a small, low stage. “Boomer will be your server tonight,” she said with a smile. “Enjoy your evening, gentlemen.”

“'Boomer'?” Barry said, and he and Miguel chuckled at the name.

Barry looked over the menu. Everything on it sounded so good – and glancing at the surrounding tables, it all looked delicious, too. Miguel was right, they did have an extensive burger menu, at least two entire columns of it were dedicated to them. 

“Hey, guys, I'm Boomer. Can I get you something to drink while you make your decisions?” Barry looked up at their server. He was tall and lean but well-muscled with messy, red hair that made him look like he just rolled out of bed. The badge on his red polo said “Owen,” making Barry think that Boomer was a nickname.

They ordered their drinks – a cherry coke for Barry and a strawberry lemonade for Miguel – then turned their attentions back to the menu. Less than a minute later, the server was back with their drinks ready to take their orders.

“Have you guys made up your mind or do you need more time?” Boomer-Owen asked.

Barry glanced at Miguel who nodded he was ready. “I'll have the double bacon burger, no onions, please,” he said, his mouth already watering.

“Do you want bottomless fries for two bucks more?” Boomer asked.

“Uh, sure, why not,” Barry answered. He glanced up at Miguel who had a huge grin after hearing his order.

“And for you, handsome?” the server asked, turning to Miguel. 

Was the waiter flirting with Barry's date? Right in front of him? Even if he was, Miguel seemed to either not notice or care that Boomer had called him “handsome.” 

“I'll have the turkey avocado burger and 'yes' to the bottomless fries question,” Miguel said. 

“Great choice, man,” Boomer said, jotting down the order on his pad. “Hey, just to let you guys know, it's Karaoke Night. If you're interested in performing, there's a free app you can download to select your song. Your phone will even buzz when it's your turn on stage.”

“Thanks,” Miguel said as the man walked away to place their order. He then turned to Barry, that huge smile still present. “What do you think? Up for some karaoke?”

Barry hadn't even answered and Miguel already had his phone out to pull-up the app. Sure, Barry could kinda sing. Iris had tricked him into joining the show choir at his old school – of course, she quit when she realized she couldn't carry a tune – but he had enjoyed it. However, he quit after the first season when his mom died and he became focused on other things.

“Haha, this one is perfect,” Miguel said with a laugh. “Here, do you wanna pick one out?” he asked handing Barry his phone. 

“Uh, I don't think I'm up for it tonight,” Barry said.

“We could always do a duet if that would be easier.”

“Hmm, I haven't even heard you sing, yet. You could really suck,” Barry teased. They both laughed only stopping when Boomer dropped two baskets of fries on their table.

“Here are your fries, guys. Whenever we see it empty, we'll bring you a new one, okay? Your burgers should be out in just a few minutes,” he said. “Anything I can get you?”

They both shook their head 'no' and immediately reached for their fries. Barry had to hold back a moan as his teeth sunk into the hot, crunchy potato. He was hungry in part from his new, higher metabolism but mostly because he was still a bit nervous and wanted a distraction.

Suddenly, the lights dimmed a bit and spotlights hit the stage beside them. A voice came over the speakers announcing that Karaoke Night had officially begun. The restaurant clapped and cheered. A skinny, blonde in heels that they announced as “Tammy” staggered onto the stage obviously having had a few drinks with her meal. The music started and Barry recognized it as Britney Spears's “Toxic.” The song was oddly fitting as the girl's off-key voice was toxic. A table of equally skinny, blonde – and probably also drunk – girls in the back of the restaurant clapped and screamed at their friend's performance.

The song finally ended to both cheers and boos of the crowd just as Miguel's phone buzzed on the table. Barry looked at it. Surely, Miguel had been joking about singing, right?

Then the announcer spoke up. “Alright, next up is Miguel.”

“Looks like it's my turn,” he said to Barry with a wink and smile. He strode the few step to the stage and leaped onto it grabbing the mike.

At the sound of the trumpet and piano intro, Barry blushed instantly realizing what Miguel had chosen to sing. “Oh, god,” Barry said under his breath. “Tell me he didn't...”

“When I need motivation  
My one solution is my king  
'Cause he stays strong  
yeah yeah”

Miguel was on stage singing OMI's “Cheerleader” – changing the pronouns as he went – looking directly at Barry as he smiled and swayed his body with the beat.

“You're boyfriend is hot,” Barry heard from beside him. It was Boomer holding a tray with their burgers. 

“Uh, thanks, but we're not boyfriends,” Barry said, turning his attention back to the stage. “It's our first date.”

“Oh, I think that I've found myself a cheerleader  
He is always right there when I need him.  
Oh, I think that I've found myself a cheerleader  
He is always right there when I need him.”

“I think he's a keeper,” Boomer said just before he walked away.

The music slowly faded out and the restaurant cheered. Miguel bowed and jumped off the stage practically running back to the table. “Wow, that was great, Miguel – embarrassing, but great,” Barry said.

“Thanks, but I'm starved! Performing really works up an appetite,” he responded.

They devoured their burgers and several baskets of fries as they watched the other singers. Miguel's performance must have triggered the competitive nature in a few other guys. Soon there was a long line of men trying to score points with their dates by serenading them with songs, too.

It was half-past seven when they asked Boomer for the bill. Miguel insisted on paying and left a huge tip, as well. As they walked off the escalator from the second floor, Miguel linked his arm through Barry's. He blushed deeply and Miguel laughed.

“You blush more than anyone I've ever met,” Miguel said. This, of course, made Barry blush an even deeper shade of red. “Es muy atractiva,” he added.

Barry didn't speak much Spanish, but he could guess what that meant. “Thanks,” he said. “How about I pay for the movie and snacks since you paid for dinner?” he asked, trying to change the subject. 

It was only a short walk across the plaza to the theater and soon the pair were walking through the automatic doors into the outer lobby. All six of the ticket windows were open, but there was still quite a long line of people ahead of them. As they waited their turn, Miguel kept his arm linked with Barry's. There was still a good twenty minutes until their showtime, but Barry always liked to get a good seat before the crowds arrived.

When it was his turn to buy tickets, Miguel finally released his arm so that Barry could pay. They entered the inner lobby and he asked if Miguel wanted anything to eat or drink. “You're stomach is a black hole, Barry Allen,” he said with a laugh. “Get whatever you like, I'm going to run to the restroom. I'll meet you back here in just a minute.”

As Barry waited alone in the concession line, he decided to check his phone. There were several text messages from Iris.

Iris: how's your date?  
The waitress spilled our drinks on me  
Eddie gave me his shirt to cover mine

What followed was a picture of Iris in an over-sized plaid shirt with a blonde boy Barry barely recognized as Eddie Thawne. He was wearing a plain, white t-shirt and had his arm around Iris's shoulder as they squeezed together for the photo. Barry knew instantly that Iris was smitten. She loved a chivalrous, prince charming guy and Eddie was clearly that. He literally gave up the shirt off his back to save their date.

Barry pocketed his phone and stepped up to the counter to place his order. He decided on the medium popcorn and soda combo. The bored-looking girl behind the counter handed him his change and turned around to get his order. He jerked when he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

“Whoa, jumpy,” Miguel laughed. “I didn't mean to scare you.”

“Sorry, I didn't think you'd be back so quick,” Barry said.

The girl dropped Barry's order on the counter and they headed to their theater to find seats. It was filling quickly, but they managed to find a spot in the third row from the top – Barry's preferred viewing spot for movies. While they waited for the film to start, Barry told Miguel about Iris's text and showed him the photo she sent.

“We can top that one,” Miguel said throwing his arm around Barry's shoulder and pulling him close. Their faces brushed and Barry could feel the warmth of Miguel's skin against his own. He was sure his face was bright red as Miguel took their picture with his phone.

“Excellante,” he said. After a few seconds of tapping rapidly with his finger, Barry felt his phone buzz in his pocket. “I sent you a copy.”

Barry pulled out his phone and saw the text from Miguel with their photo. Obviously, Miguel was sporting his wide, ultra-white smile but Barry was surprised to see that he had a huge grin, as well. Even better, his face wasn't flushed red from blushing. He saved the picture to his album and then sent it to Iris along with a message reading: “The date is going great.”

They chatted a bit more until the lights dimmed and the trailers began to roll. Just after the movie itself began, Barry felt Miguel's hand settle atop his on the armrest, knitting his fingers in between Barry's. When Barry turned to look at him, Miguel was staring at the screen but with a wide smile plastered across his face. Their hands remained like that for the remainder of the movie.

As the credits began to crawl, Miguel removed his hand so he could stretch out his arms. They waited a bit, discussing the film and watching the credits until the crowd dispersed. Once it had thinned, they finally got up from their seats. When they reached the exit, Miguel reached for Barry's hand intertwining their fingers once more. They slowly walked together to the parking lot enjoying the oddly warm night and clear, starry sky.

“A shooting star!” Miguel said pointing to the sky. “Make a wish.”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think that was a shooting star,” Barry said. “First, it was way too low in the atmosphere and, second, it looked almost purple. It was probably a jet or plane or something.”

“Spoilsport,” Miguel said, laughing. “Who needs a shooting star, anyway. I already got my wish.”

Barry felt Miguel pull in close and their lips were suddenly brushing together. Everything seemed to slow down around them and Barry couldn't be sure if it was his speed powers or the passion of the moment or both. It didn't matter. His brain suddenly caught up to the rest of him and he pushed firmly into Miguel and his lips, deepening the kiss.

The kiss seemed to last for hours but, realistically, was only a few seconds. When Miguel finally pulled away, Barry's lips tingled from the contact and he could still taste the spearmint of the other boy's gum. He bit back the urge to scream out a “woo-hoo” at the top of his lungs before leaping on Miguel for a second kiss.

“Whoa, for a second there, I though you might pull away. That was some first kiss,” Miguel said brushing a finger against his own lips. He glanced at his watch. “It's only twenty past ten, we still have time before I need to take you home.”

Barry didn't want the night to end. As nervous as he'd been at the start of it, he just wanted to keep it going. He liked Miguel a lot, but he knew that if he didn't end the date now, he'd end up staying with him all night long... 

“I've had a blast, but..” Barry said with a sigh. “I do think I should get home.”

Miguel's smile faded, “I understand. I know you said you've got plans tomorrow morning.”

“Hey,” Barry said, grabbing Miguel's chin and turning his face toward his own. He stared deep into Miguel's dark brown eyes. “I really did have an amazing time. I hope we can do it again.” He leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on Miguel's lips causing them both to smile again.

“You still owe me a song,” Miguel said. They both laughed.

“Well, if you're not busy Sunday, Susan Dearborn and I are going to the groundbreaking ceremony for the S.T.A.R. Labs facility they're building. There won't be karaoke, but maybe afterwards we can grab lunch.”

“You're not worried about Susan finding out about us?” Miguel asked. “I thought you wanted to keep things a bit hush-hush?”

“Sue's bound to find out anyway, if she doesn't know already. Besides, I guess I don't really care if people know about us or not.”

“Aye, dios mio!” Miguel shouted. “I need to get you home before I decide to kidnap you and make-out with you all night long.” He grabbed Barry's hand once more and they ran to the parking lot, laughing loudly as they went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The big date! Finally, a little bit of romance for Barry and Miguel. But then Len has to show-up all sexy and naked.
> 
> When I was writing this chapter, "Cheerleader" was on in the background and it seemed like the perfect song for Miguel to sing to Barry. As for "Toxic," that is based on a real karaoke night I experienced in the past - it was even more horrible than I could accurately depict.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my first publicly posted story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If there is enough positive feedback, I'll be posting more of this series as long as others feel like reading it and I'm inspired to continue writing it. Next is Tuesday, from Len's perspective.
> 
> As a side note, the title "Coup de Foudre" compares to the English adage "Love at First Sight." However, it's literal French translation means "Lightning Strike."


End file.
